Multiple container package arrangements

ABSTRACT

A unit handled group of container packages and a carrier support handle therefor; each package including plural individual containers, such as beaded cans arranged in six packs, interconnected by an apertured carrier sheet of plastic material with the carrier sheet material around each aperture resiliently stretched and deformed to engage individual containers below the bead or other rim formation at the upper ends thereof; the packages in the group being disposed in vertical array one above the other; and the web portions of the carrier sheet of each package being provided with openings between adjacent containers to receive therethrough the ends of a support handle having lateral tabs below each carrier sheet and spaced to engage the same for individually supporting each package of containers when the handle is grasped to transport the vertical array of container packages in the group.

United States Patent 1191,

Weaver 11] 3,822,012 1 July 2,1974

[75] Inventor: William N. Weaver, Glen Ellyn, 111. [73] a Assignee:Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago,

[22] Filed: July 14, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 271,883

[52] US. Cl 206/151, 206/163, 206/199, 224/45 C, 224/45 P, 294/872 [51]Int. CL... 865d 71/00, B65d 25/28, B66f 19/00 [58] Field of Search224/45 C, 45 P; 206/65 C; 220/94 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,774,510 12/1956 Logan 224/45 C X 2,874,835 12/1959 Poupitch206/65 C 2,997,169 SLlgQL P QILitEh 206/65 c 3,016,136 1/1962 Poupitch220/94 UX 3,224,575 12/1965 Whiteford 206/65 C 3,250,564 5/1966 Stern eta1 220/97 B X 3,607,308 9/197] Dubble ..229/43 Primary Examiner-LeonardSummer 5 7] ABSTRACT A unit handled group of container packages and acarrier support handle therefor; each package including pluralindividual containers, such as beaded cans arranged in six packs,interconnected by an apertured carrier sheet of plastic material withthe carrier sheet material around each aperture resiliently stretchedand deformed to engage individual containers below 1 having lateral tabsbelow each carrier sheet and spaced to engage the same for individuallysupporting each package of containers when the handle is grasped totransport the vertical array of container packages in the group.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 I I MULTIPLE CONTAINER PACKAGEARRANGEMENTS,

SUMMARY like with the materialaround each aperture stretched anddeformedto engage the cans below the top beads thereof for assembly andwith central finger holes in the carrier web to transport the package byhand grip or by means of a handle inserted in the finger holes. One typeof such a handle is shown in the Poupitch U.S. Pat. No.

The present invention is concerned with the arrangement of containerpackages in groups with the individual packages disposed in verticalarray one above the other in the group, and a principal object of theinvention is to provide means for maintaining the packages in the groupassembly and for transport of the plural packages as a single group ofpackages.

Another object of the invention is to provide for each group of packagesan elongate handle member projecting through the carrier web of eachpackage in the group and having lateral tabs engageable with the undersurface of each carrier web for transport of the group of packages.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elongate handlemember of the above type wherein the lateral tabs are spaced along thelength thereof in cor relation with individual container heights in eachpackage such that each package is independently supported by tabs duringtransport of the group of packages.

The above and other objects of the invention will in part be obvious andwill be hereinafter more fully pointed out in the detail description inconnection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pair of six container packages ina unit handled group assembly;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the elongate handle strap;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section along the line 33 of FIG. 1 shwoing theupper and lower packages slightly separated from one another duringhandle support of the group thereof for transport, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing one of the carriersheet openings and tabs positioned therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to FIG. I, there is shown an upperpackage of six containers, such as cans with end beads 12, and a lowerpackage of six similar cans 14 with end beads 16. The packages arearranged in vertical array one above the other as a single group of twoor more packages arranged for transport by a handle member 18 as willappear below. The integrity of each individual package is maintained bya carrier sheet of resilient deformable plastic material, such aspolyethylene or a comparable material which is apertured in ac-"cordance with the number and arrangement of the containers in eachpackage. Thus, the upper carrier sheet 20 will havesix apertures withweb portionstherebetweenand through which apertures the upper ends ofthe cans 10 will be forced. This results in the carrier material beingstretched and deformed into generally vertically disposedstrap-like ringportions 22 gripping the body portions of the cans 10 immediately belowthe top beads 12 for support and maintenance of the cans in the six packassembly. In like manner, the lower carrier sheet 24 has similargripping ring formations 26 for the containers 12 in that lower package.The upper carrier sheet 20 is provided with a pair of openings 28, onedisposed through the web portion of the sheet between a cluster of fourcontainers and the other disposed through the comparable web portion ofanother cluster of .four containers with the center pair of containersbeing common to both clusters. The lower carrier sheet 24 is providedwith similarly located openings 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the handle member 18 is in the form of an elongatedflat strip of polyethylene, preferably of high density type, or similarmaterial with available s'trength and flexibility characteristics forthe intended use thereof. The central portion 32 of the handle strapserves as a hand grip portion and may be provided with longitudinal foldlines to conform the same to hand gripping for comfort in lifting andtransporting the group of packages. At opposite extremities of thehandle strap 18, there are provided pairs of laterally extending tabs orlugs 34 and 36 which present, respectively, abutment or support ledgesor shoulders 34a and 36a projecting at generally right angles from theedges of .the handle strap and facing the center thereof. These tabshave tapered side edges 34b and 36b rendering the same tapered as atrapezoid to facilitate passage through the openings 28, 30, in theupper and lower carrier sheets 20, 24, respectively, to a position withthe ledges 34a underlying the lower carrier sheet 24 as shown in FIG. 3.Intermediate the ends of the handle strap and substantially at theextremities of the central portion 32, there are provided additionalpairs of laterally extending tabs or lugs 38 and 40 which presentsimilar abutment or support ledges 38a and 40a, respectively, facing thecenter of the strap and which are passed through the openings 28 in theupper carrier sheet 20 to a position underlying the same as shown inFIG. 3.

In this position of the handle strap 18 in association with the upperand lower container packages, the central portion 32 is curved upwardlyfor hand gripping to lift the group of packages as a unit for transportthereof with the pendant strap or leg portions 35, 35a extending betweenadjacent pairs of containers 10 in the upper package. In this connectionit is to be noted that the distances between the ledges 34a and 38a, onthe one hand, and the distances between the ledges 36a and 40a, on theother hand, are slightly longer than the lengths or heights of thecontainers 10 in the upper package; So arranged, initial lifting of thehandle portion 32 of the strap will bring the ledges 38a and 40a intoengagement with the under surface of the web portions to opposite sidesof the openings 28 in the upper carrier sheet 20 prior to engagement ofthe ledges 34a and 36a with the under surface of the carrier sheet 24 toopposite sides of the openings 30 therein. Continued lifting of thehandle strap will first elevate the upper package of the containers 10and thereafter elevate the lower package of the containers 14, leaving aspace 50 (see FIG. 3) between the bottoms of the upper containers l andthe, tops of the lower containersl4 during transport of the group ofpackages. Thus, the ledges 34a and 36a support the lower package ofcontainers 14 and the ledges 38a and 40a support the upper package ofcontainers 10, with the separate weights of the packages transmittedthrough the strap portions 35, 35a to the handle portion 32. When thegroup of packages'is at rest on a support surface, the containers of theupper package will rest on the containers 14 of the lower package. If agroup is stacked on another group, the handle portion 32 will bedepressed to be flush with the top of an underlying group and the strapportions 35, 35a and tabs will assume the dotted line positions of FIG.3. The inherent resiliency of the handle strap, when bent to thecarrying position in association with a group of packages, will tend tospread the strap portions 35, 35a and thus urge the tabs outwardly tounderlie the carrier sheet web portions at the outer edges of theopenings 28, 30 which may be shaped to provide increased carrier sheetmaterial with which the tab ledges engage for support of the packages inthe group.

The tabs 38 and 40 may also be provided with tapered edges 38b and 40b,respectively, facing the extremities of the handle strap 18 tofacilitate passage of the tabs through the openings 28 in the uppercarrier sheet 20. In this connection, the openings 28 and 30 in the webportions of the carrier sheet may be variously shaped to facilitatepassage of the tabs therethrough as for example by being in the form ofslits extending longitudinally of the associated carrier sheet in whichcase the strap portions 35, 35a will be appropriately twisted to passthe tabs therethrough and the inherent resiliency of the handle strapmaterial will restore the tabs to positions transversely of the slits tounderlie the carrier sheet material on opposite sides thereof. Also, asshown in FIG. 4, the openings 28 and 30 may be somewhat arcuate in shapeso that as a tab, for example, tabs 34 are automatically forcedtherethrough, they will bend slightly to follow the arc, as shown indotted lines, due to the taughtness of the carrier web portions with theweb-attached cans and then restore themselves to the underlying supportpositions and urged toward the outer edges of the openings to underliemaximum available carrier sheet material, as where the openings arearcuate or taper toward the outer edges, for adequate support of thepackages during transport.

I claim:

1. Two groups of multiple container packages to be handled as a unitwith the packages disposed in vertical array, each of said groups ofmultiple container packages comprising a plurality of containers and acarrier, said carrier formed from a resilient plastic sheet material andhaving a plurality of container receiving and gripping aperturespositioned in said sheet material in adjoining rows with webs of saidsheet material therebetween, said plastic sheet material further havinga pair of spaced apart openings through said webs and between said rows,the carriers of the two groups and the openings therein being verticallyaligned, each of said plurality of containers positioned within one ofsaid container receiving and gripping apertures of one of said carrierswith said carrier immediately below the upper ends of said containers,and a support handle having a central hand grip portion and leg portionsprojecting downwardly from each end of saidsupport handie, each of saidleg portions extending downwardly through one of said spaced apartopenings of each of said carriers, and each of said leg portionsprovided with integral horizontally projecting ledge means, each of saidledge means positioned below one of said openings and having sufficientlength to engage the underside of said webs about said openings forengagement with said webs upon lifting of the hand grip portion totransport said two groups of packages in said vertical array.

2. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed in claim 1,wherein the distance between said ledge means on each of said legportions is greater than the vertical extent of the containers in saidpackages whereby upon lifting of the hand grip portion superposed andlowermost packages will be separately and independently supported onassociated ledge means.

3. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed in claim 2,wherein the support handle is formed of a plastic material havinginherent resiliency with the hand grip portion bowed to urge thedownwardly projecting leg portions in opposite directions in a verticalplane between said rows.

4. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed in claim 1,wherein the ledge means are provided at the upper edges of laterallyextending pairs of tabs at least certain of which have tapered leadingedges to facilitate passage thereof through the openmgs.

5. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed in claim 4,wherein the support handle is formed from a flat plastic sheet materialwith the hand grip portion bowed upwardly and tending to urge the legportions in opposite directions in a vertical plane between said rows.

1. Two groups of multiple container packages to be handled as a unitwith the packages disposed in vertical array, each of said groups ofmultiple container packages comprising a plurality of containers and acarrier, said carrier formed from a resilient plastic sheet material andhaving a plurality of container receiving and gripping aperturespositioned in said sheet material in adjoining rows with webs of saidsheet material therebetween, said plastic sheet material further havinga pair of spaced apart openings through said webs and between said rows,the carriers of the two groups and the openings therein being verticallyaligned, each of said plurality of containers positioned within one ofsaid container receiving and gripping apertures of one of said carrierswith said carrier immediately below the upper ends of said containers,and a support handle having a central hand grip portion and leg portionsprojecting downwardly from each end of said support handle, each of saidleg portions extending downwardly through one of said spaced apartopenings of each of said carriers, and each of said leg portionsprovided with integral horizontally projecting ledge means, each of saidledge means positioned below one of said openings and having sufficientlength to engage the underside of said webs about said openings forengagement with said webs upon lifting of the hand grip portion totransport said two groups of packages in said vertical array.
 2. Twogroups of multiple container packages as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedistance between said ledge means on each of said leg portions isgreater than the vertical extent of the containers in said packageswhereby upon lifting of the hand grip portion superposed and lowermostpackages will be separately and independently supported on associatedledge means.
 3. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the support handle is formed of a plastic materialhaving inherent resiliency with the hand grip portion bowed to urge thedownwardly projecting leg portions in opposite directions in a verticalplane between said rows.
 4. Two groups of multiple container packages asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge means are provided at the upperedges of laterally extending pairs of tabs at least certain of whichhave tapered leading edges to facilitate passage thereof through theopenings.
 5. Two groups of multiple container packages as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the support handle is formed from a flat plastic sheetmaterial with the hand grip portion bowed upwardly and tending to urgethe leg portions in opposite directions in a vertical plane between saidrows.